Golf target



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GOLF TARGET Filed June 2, 1955 f A im;

May W, 1960 E. w. THURSTQN GOLF TARGET 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed June 2, 1955 ww/Ma KfZ/055.92@ @f 0MM my GOLF TARGET Emersonl W. Thurston, North Abington, Mass. j

Application June 2, 1955, Serial No. 512,686 2 claims. (ci. 27s- 182) This invention relates to a target and more especially to a target for golf driving ranges, although it is tobe understood that it can be used for private purposes.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a United., States Patent 4target which will trap the ball once a direct hit is made so that there is substantially no chance foi-the ball to escape by rebounding, Another object is to provide a tar-get which may be adjusted to require dilerent degrees of skill in making a direct hit and to provide for different kinds of play, such as driving, pitching, chipping and so forth. Another object is to provide a target which may be adjusted heightwise with respect to the ground and which -may be further adjusted to provide for leveling on an uneven footing.

As herein illustrated the target comprises a receptacle having an open mouth bounded by a rigid rim from which is suspended withinvthe mouth, below the level of the rim, a limp web or net adapted to absorb the impact of the ball and to check 4its rebound. The net has in it a centrally located hole through which the trapped ball may drop into the bottom of the receptacle therebelow. Preferably the receptacle has a circular rim and its wall tapers conically toward the bottom. The net is 4dropped into the receptacle may be retrieved. A conduit .is `connected'to the aperture for carrying the ball to a place convenient Ito be recovered for reuse. The legs of which there are four supporting the receptacle are pivotally attached to the rim and have telescopically adjustable sections to permit elevating and lowering the receptacle and tilting its rim with respect to the ground. Guy ropes are :attached at one end to the rim next to the legs and each has a peg attached to its opposite end which may be driven -into the ground.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of the apparatus showing the signal flag in erect and prone positions;

Fig. 2 is a diametrical section through the trap;

Fig. 2a is a diametrical section through a modied trap wherein the net is stitched to the inner side thereof;

Fig. 3 is a top view of the trap;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view in elevation to larger scale of the leg attaching means and the attaching means Vfor the guy rope;

.the flagstat.

Referring to the drawings the target comprises a trap .receptacle 10 which issupported in an" elevated position 2,936,179 Patented May 10,1960( r' ICC above the ground by several legs 12 and at the lower end of the trap there is an inclined conductor 14 through which a ball dropped into the trap may roll into contact with signal means 16 to indicate that the ball has been trapped.

The trap, as shown in Fig. 2, has a rigid circular frame 18 comprised of any suitable rigid material, preferably a material that is resistant to rusting, and may conveniently be aluminum. The frame member 18 has welded to its underside at four equally spaced points (Fig. 4), downwardly extending posts 20, the lower ends 22 of which are bent `at right angles and threaded to receive nuts. The posts 20 `are braced by angle members 24 welded to the ring and to the vertical portion of each post. The upper section 26 of each leg 12 isV provided with an eye 28 adapted to be pivotally mounted on the right angular portion 22 of each post 20 and to be secured thereto by a nut 29. Preferably the ends 22 are provided with bearing flanges 31 against which the eyes 28 are held by the nuts. The upper section 26 of each leg is telescopically mounted in a hollow lower section 30 and is adjustable therein to vary the height of the trap from the ground. A suitable clamping collar 32 is provided at the upper end of each of the hollow sections 30 for fixing the sections at a predetermined position of adjustment. The lower end `of each hollow section 30 is preferably sharpened at 34 so that it may be easily thrust into the ground to stabilize the device. In order to anchor the 'device in place against overturning by wind four links 36 are provided, each having `an eye 38 adapted to be pivotally connected to the frame 18 and an eye 40 to which a guy rope 42 may be connected `at one end. The lower `end of each guy rope is fastened. to a stake 43 driven into the ground and each rope may have on it la stretcher 45. The links 36 and guy ropes are preferably distributed uniformly 4about the perimeter of the frame `adjacent the legs.

The trap itself comprises a conically shaped, exible bag 44, for example canvas, the mouth of which is looped over the rigid circular frame 18, as shown in Fig. 2, and secured thereto by fastening means 46 such as stitching, stapling or lacing. The frame 18 constitutes a rigid rim `for the bag and supports it with its small end hanging substantially lvertically downward. A net 48 is suspended within the trap from its rim so as to hang therein below the rim. The net is comprised of a limp material of suiicient fullness to belly downward into the trap but without having contact with the conical wall of the bag. The net has a drawstring at its edge and is removably attached to the rim by folding its edge over the rim and then pulling the drawstring tight and knotting it. Alternatively (Fig. 2a), the net may be fastened to the wall or the bag 44, internally thereof by stitching s. The essential feature of the net is that it shall be loose and limp enough so that the energy of a falling ball striking it is completely absorbed without chance 'of its striking a firm surface which would cause rebound. Thus the net must be free to travel with the ball a little way when the latter strikes it without coming into contact with the conical wall of the bag and the net itself must be free of any elasticity which might have a tendencylto throw the ball back. To permit the trapped ball to fall into the bottom of the bag the net has at its center an elongate opening 50.

At the lower end of the bag there is a small opening 52 j and a rigid funnel 54 having a spout 56 placed in the choring holes therein.

rolling through the spout will roll to thetar end ot the conductor, by a post 66 driven into the ground in a Vertical position next to the trap on which is placed a sleeve 67. To this end the conductor 14 has vertically registering holes 68 and 70 (Fig. 6) made near its end through which the sleeve 67 is projected and this end of the'conduotor is held at a suitable vertical distance above the ground by spaced collars 72 and '74 mounted on the sleeve beneath and above the conductor, which have set screws by means of which the sleeve may be fixed at a predetermined vertical height on the post 66. The holes 68 and 70 are made somewhat larger 4than the sleeve so that heightwise adjustmentof the sleeve on the post can lbe effected without binding of the end of the conductor. The sleeve 67 may be adjusted about the axis of the post toV center the latchmechanism, to be described hereinatten-with respect to the path of a ball rolling along the conductor and ixed in the best position by setting the screws :against the post.

,At the uppper end of the sleeve 67 there is fastened a bracket 76 having a laterally oset arm 78. A bolt 80y is mounted on the arm 78 and pivotally supports a sleeve 82 which has -at its lower end a pair of spaced ears 84 adapted to receive the bolt -80 and to be secured in place by 4a nut on the bolt. The lower end of a agstal 86 is fastened inthe sleeve 82 so as to be in vertical alignment with the Vertical axis of the post 66 and to be swingable from its vertical position about the bolt 80 as a center to a prone position las shown by the dot and `dash lines (Fig. 1). The stai carries a flag 88 or other pendant. The sleeve 82 at the lower end of the staff has on it opposite the ears 84 a lip 91 which projects radially out from the statt, diametrically opposite the ears 84. The staff 86 is held erect in alignment with the post by a latch which is adapted to be released by a ball rolling along the conductor. To this end there is fastened to the sleeve 67 a pair of spaced plates 92 between which there is pivot-ally supported on a bolt 9'4 -a latch lever 96 having at its upper end a hook 98 adapted to engage the lip 91 and at its lower end a trip arm 100 which projects downwardly through a slot 102 in the top vside of the conductor as shown in Fig. 6. Normally the latch is held engaged with the lip by a spring 112l mounted on the pin 94 with one end bearing on the latch lever and the other on the post so as to urge the lever in a clockwise direction as seen Vin Fig. 6. As thus constructed, when a ball 104 rolls along the conductor and strikes the trip 100 the hook 98 is disengaged from the lip 91 so as to release the agstatl. Opposite the trip lever there is fastened to the sleeve an arm 108 and between this and a collar 110 fastened tothe stal there is stretched a strong spring 106 which operates to pull the statt downwardly to the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. l when the latch is released. The tension of the spring may be varied by shifting its lower end along the arm 16S to diierent an- It is to be observed that the spring 106 which is constantly under tension tends to pull the staff in a clockwise direction about its pivot and hence to hold the lip 91 lrmly engaged with the hook 98 on the latch and that the spring on the latch itself constantly urges the hook in a direction to maintain this engagement. Thus there is no danger of wind `forces on the flag releasing the latch so that it would fall in the absence of a ball in the conductor.

In order to break the 'fall of the staff and also to hold it in a position out of contact with the ground there is provided a post 114 (Fig. 1) which is driven into the ground adjacent the post 66. This post has attached to it by a bolt 116 at its upper end a crotch 118 having spaced arms between which is fastened a loop of ilexible material 120 which may be comprised of canvas or leather against which the statt' when drawn forcibly downward by the 'spring 106 will strike thereby cushioning the fall of the 'staand supporting it in an inclined position as shown Vin dotted lines in Fig. 1.

In using the target it is set up in a driving range at a considerable distance from the driving tees. For example, a target having a six foot diameter mouth may be set at a distance of feet from the tees. In setting it up the pointed ends of the legs are thrust into the ground; the legs are adjusted to a suitable height, for example, with the rim approximately 6 feet from the ground; and the guy rope stakes are driven tinto the ground. The stretchers are then adjusted to bring the ropes up taut. An auxiliary rope 122 may be connected by a ring to the elbow at the bottom of the cone and pegged into the ground to steady the lower part of the cone if desired. In some cases it is desirable to have the mouth of the receptacle horizontal, that is parallel to the ground and in other cases it may be desirable to tilt `it toward the driving tees at a slight angle. 'This can be readily accomplished by shortening the front legs and swinging them outwardly so as to maintain stable equilibrium. The signal support and staff support are preferably driven into the ground to one side of the target.

The object of the target is to induce those using Ithe range to improve their accuracy in driving, lofting, chipping, etc., and they are rewarded for their accuracy by a definite indication in the form of the signal which shows that the ball actually reached the target. An important aspect of the target is that it is virtu-ally impossible for the ball to rebound once it has landed in the receptacle for the reason that the net 48 mounted the cone cushions the impact of the ball so that there is no reactive lforce tending to throw it out of the target.

While the target is shown cone-shaped it may be of other convenient shapes so long as it has a low point at the bottom toward which the ball will roll for entrance into the upper end of the conductor 14. Moreover the nature of the signal may be changed without departing -from the scope of the invention. For example, the latch lever 96 could be the lever of an electric switch -and be operable by contact of a ball therewith to energize a circuit extending from the target to the tee or to the proprietors stand adjacent thereto to operate an audible or visual signal.

Though the target is designed especially for golf it is within the scope of the invention to use it for other purposes, for example, to receive a thrown ball either as a game of skill or as a way to improve ones Iaccuracy in throwing.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is ffor the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim: i

l. A target adapted to trap a golf ball driven into it, comprising a receptacle having -an open mouth bounded by a rigid rim, a limp web suspended `from the rim in the form of a shallow bowl for catching the ball without rebound said bowl having a small central opening for conducting the checked ball to the bottom of the receptacle below the bowl, the bottom of the receptacle having a low point through which there is an aperture toward which Ithe walls converge, legs supporting the receptacle at an elevation from the ground and a conduit connected to the bottom of the receptacle in registration with the aperture for conducting the ball from the bottom of the receptacle to a place of recovery.

2. A target adapted to trap golf balls driven into it, comprising a receptacle having a relatively large `open mouth bounded by a rigid rim, and downwardly extending walls terminating in a bottom opening commensurate in diameter with that of a golf ball, a limp web disposed within the mouth adjacent the rim, said web being secured peripherally to the receptacle in a position to form a shallow bowl below the level of the rim but above the bottom of the receptacle, said web being freely suspended and containing a narrow elongate opening centrally thereof, a rigid funnel at the bottom of the receptacle having. a down spout extending through the bottom open- 5 ing, a lateral extending from the lower end of the down spout of a diameter to receive and conduct the balls in line toward its distal end, said lateral having at its distal end a top opening through which balls may be removed one by one, means at the distal end of the lateral to retain the endmost ball, means for supporting the target above the ground with the receptacle depending therefrom, and other means supporting the distal end of the lateral.

Anderson June 11, 1889 Gailey Feb. 3, 1903 Fuller May 21, 1907 15 6 Maroney ...1.- Apr. 5, 1910 Thayer Dec. 12, 1916 Dean Mar. 15, 1921 Brandt Aug. 9, 1921 Seibold Oct. 4, 1921 Jackson Oct. 18, 1921 Sternbergh Oct. 13, 1931 Shelley Apr. 2, 1940 Irwin et al Jan. 21, 1941 Connell Mar. 18, 1941 Keller Nov. 11, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Apr. 17, 1934 Great Britain June 25, 1937 

